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Publication Date: April 2008
Publisher: Heritage Foundation (Washington, D.C.)
Author(s): Ariel Cohen
Research Area: International relations
Keywords: Russia and Eurasia; South Ossetia; Abkhazia; Georgia
Type: Brief
Coverage: Russia (Federation) Georgia (Republic)
Abstract:
Throughout April, Russia has escalated its political and military pressure on its neighbor Georgia. At the NATO summit in Bucharest, President Vladimir Putin reportedly threatened to recognize the independence of the breakaway autonomous republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia if Georgia was granted a Membership Action Plan (MAP) for eventual accession to NATO. On April 16, despite France and Germany balking at providing a MAP, and apparently as retribution for the West's recognition of Kosovo's independence, Putin instructed the Russian Foreign Ministry to upgrade the legal and economic ties between Russia and the secessionist governments of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, violating Georgian sovereignty.